Hank Hill

Hank Rutherford Hill is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox animated television series King of the Hill. He lives in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, with his family and works as the assistant manager of a local branch of Strickland Propane. He likes to drink beer, typically Alamo brand, in the alley behind his house with his friends. He is voiced by series creator Mike Judge.<ref name="off siteref">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="IMDb page">Template:Cite web</ref> The Economist described Hank Hill as one of the wisest people on television,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and in 1997 Texas Monthly included him on its annual list of the most influential Texans.<ref name="TexasTwenty1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Development

When Mike Judge submitted the pilot script and drawings for King of the Hill to the Fox network, network executives advised him that Hank Hill should be younger than 49 years old, as Judge had described the character. Judge received a phone message from a network executive who told him that Hank's age should be 32, the same age as the network's average viewer. Judge later said, "I got all angry, and then I was like, 'Well, wait. It's just a drawing.' So I just went back with the same drawing and said, 'Okay, he's 34.'"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Hank has been compared to Tom Anderson, the "disapproving old man" who is a neighbor of the title characters on Judge's earlier series Beavis and Butt-Head.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Television columnist Frank Wooten of The Post and Courier has written, "Hank still looks and sounds like a young Mr. Anderson (beleaguered, baffled Korean War veteran of 'Beavis and Butt-head'). But he's more in touch with contemporary reality (sort of) -- and funnier."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Throughout the show's run, Hank's character's personality appears to more primarily be built around the image of the all American, authoritarian family man. In a 2006 interview, Judge said, "Originally I was going to have Hank be his [Mr. Anderson's] son. I was kind of thinking we'd tie it into "Beavis and Butt-Head" as a sort of spinoff or something, but Fox said no."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Greg Daniels, another creator of the program, has said that Hank Hill is "based on a lot of neighbors I've had… He's upset about how America is changing, and he doesn't know what to do about it."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Character analysis

Describing Hank physically, Jo Johnson has written, "In keeping with [Mike] Judge's tradition of subtlety, the character of Hank Hill is only slightly overweight, not to satisfy the stereotype of the boorish husband, but because he eats a lot of meat and drinks a lot of beer."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Palmer-Mehta notes that Hank's "fervor for selling propane and propane accessories is nearly apostolic."<ref name="Palmer-Mehta">Template:Cite journal</ref> During their development of the character, the show's writers did substantial research on the propane business. Over time, members of the propane industry came to view Hank Hill as a largely positive image.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ethan Thompson writes that although Hank Hill is similar to other sitcom father figures, such as Archie Bunker from All in the Family, he is different due to his "ability to acknowledge that the values and beliefs he grew up with are no longer sufficient to guide him in his roles as father, husband, friend, and employee."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Much of the humor of the show results from the collision of Hank's mildly conservative manner, nature, and philosophy with the world and people around him.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, despite his history of leaning towards Republican political candidates, which has included frequent praise of George W. Bush throughout much of the series (despite a brief period skepticism after Bush gave him a "limp" handshake),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it would be revealed in season 14 that Hank also eventually voted for Barack Obama.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After having lived in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Hank takes a liking to soccer after having disliked it for many years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

New York Times contributor Matt Bai discussed Hank's political perspective in 2005, writing, "[L]ike a lot of the basically conservative voters you meet in rural America ... Hank never professes an explicit party loyalty, and he and his buddies who sip beer in the alley don't talk like their fellow Texan Tom DeLay. If Hank votes Republican, it's because, as a voter who cares about religious and rural values, he probably doesn't see much choice. But Hank and his neighbors resemble many independent voters, open to proposals that challenge their assumptions about the world, as long as those ideas don't come from someone who seems to disrespect what they believe."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1997, Texas Monthly included Hank Hill on its annual "Texas Twenty" list of "the most impressive, intriguing, and influential Texans". He was the first "non-human" to make the list. An accompanying mock interview described him as "perhaps the most recognized Texan in the world".<ref name="TexasTwenty1"/><ref name="TexasTwenty2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ten years later, Associated Press television critic Frazier Moore described Hank as "more than ever ... a man on the spot, torn between squabbling, widening extremes. . . the man politicians always glorify in campaign speeches, but conveniently forget once they win: the ordinary guy, just trying to get by." Moore opined that Hank "was a remarkable invention 10 years ago" and the fact that the show was "still funny and savvy" a decade later was "even more notable".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In other media

Besides King of the Hill, Hank has made cameos on other shows, either officially or in pop culture, including:

Program	Episode	References	Appearance
The Simpsons	"Bart Star"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Official
	"Missionary: Impossible"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>	Pop Cultural
	"Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
	"The Ten-Per-Cent Solution"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
	"Pretty Whittle Liar"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
Family Guy	"Petergeist"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
	"Bigfat"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Official
	"All About Alana"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Cleveland Show	"Cleveland Live!"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
	"Das Shrimp Boot"	<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>
South Park	"Cartoon Wars Part II"		Pop Cultural

See also

• List of King of the Hill characters

External links

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